The BBC is good for UK Music - so says the BBC's research

The British Broadcasting Corporation has "made a significant positive contribution to the £3.8 billion that the UK music industry generated in the UK economy in 2013" according to accountancy firm KPMG.  KPMG has been looking at the impact of the BBC in response to the UK government's recent green paper on the future of the Corporation. One of the areas that the BBC Trust-commissioned research considered was music, with the conclusion that "the scale of the BBC's music-related activity suggests that its economic impact in this area could be significant":  "BBC radio was the first to provide airtime for the majority of London Grammar's tracks", the research notes. "Of seventeen songs played on UK radio, fifteen were played first on the BBC. In their record label's view, the BBC was likely to have played a role in the estimated £4.3 million that album sales of London Grammar's 'If You Wait' generated to the UK economy" as well as identifying that "The BBC was the first to play Sam Smith singles, on Radio 1, in 2012 and 2013, and Ed Sheeran had his first ever UK radio play on Radio 1Xtra. Radio 1 playlisted two Clean Bandit singles and supported three before any commercial radio station had played Clean Bandit's music. And the BBC's support for emerging artists like Andreya Triana and Shaun Escoffery has boosted their careers and their contribution to the music industry".

BBC Radio 1 reduces live music output - and revamps the chart show

BBC Radio 1 is dropping the number of live music sessions from 250 to 160 and the number of live events that BBC Radio covers will drop from 25 to 10. Expensive outside broadcasting is being cited as one of the reasons for the cull, which will impact on the range of live music events and festivals aired on the Beeb. The Trust has agreed to the cuts to enable savings – it has also agreed to narrow Radio 1’s quota for coverage of major live events and festivals so that it excludes special editions of live sessions, and includes only BBC and third-party major live events.

The BBC Trust's review of BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, 6 Music and Asian Network found that the stations perform a vital role in the development and promotion of UK music. With specific reference to the BBC’s coverage of live music events, the Report addresses concerns from commercial operators, but said that it found no evidence of disadvantage despite comments from the commercial radio sector that said that while 6 Music is capable of providing exemplary coverage of live music and festivals, such as Glastonbury, its coverage of major events may affect its ability to cover smaller events and that it distorts the market, by preventing commercial operators from gaining a foothold but the Review said "we have seen no evidence that the live market is being unnecessarily distorted by BBC events or coverage.”

And Radio 1's 'Official Chart Show' is moving to Friday. The move follows a global agreement by the music industry to release all new albums and singles on Fridays.
It means the chart will now be compiled on Friday mornings, with Radio 1 the first to reveal the latest number one. From July, the big top 40 countdown will air between 4-6pm on Friday afternoon. Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper confirmed the new show would be an hour shorter than the current incarnation, airing from 16:00 to 18:00 GMT, allowing the Dance Anthems slot to remain on the schedule saying "That means we will not be playing every single record in the Top 40," he said. "We will be a little bit more choosy about the records we play in those two hours."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32019327 

BBC announce first 'truly digital' Glastonbury coverage

(c) 2011 Ben Challis

The BBC has announces plans for its broadest and best Glastonbury coverage to date, giving music fans better than ever access to their favourite acts, live and on-demand, at home and on the go. More than 120 live performances will be broadcast exclusively by the BBC over the three days of Glastonbury 2013 on TV, radio, red button and online – well exceeding the number featured two years ago. ]

The BBC will bring together the unrivalled musical expertise of some of its biggest names to guide viewers and listeners every step of the way. Glastonbury first-timer Chris Evans and festival veteran Steve Lamacq will be joined by Nick Grimshaw, Gemma Cairney, Lauren Laverne, Dermot O’Leary, Mark Radcliffe, Jo Whiley, Craig Charles and others to form a team which will work together across TV, radio, red button and online.

The BBC's Glastonbury presentation team

For the first time, the BBC will be live-streaming six key music stages – The Pyramid Stage, Other Stage, West Holts, The Park, John Peel  including the BBC Introducing stage, reflecting over 120 acts being filmed  ranging from the newest talents to the biggest headliners, and amounting to more than 250 hours of live coverage and streaming.

The BBC’s coverage will be available on multiple platforms across TV, radio, and online, on four screens: PC, mobile, tablet and connected TV (including smart TVs and games consoles), as well as BBC Red Button. Music fans will be able to watch and listen to a huge range of performances live, wherever they are, and relive their favourite festival moments or ones they’ve missed on BBC iPlayer.

Bob Shennan, BBC Controller of Popular Music, said: “Glastonbury is one of the greatest pop music events in the world and we want to make this year’s coverage the next best thing for everyone who can’t make it in person to Worthy Farm. We aim to broadcast more of the festival than ever before, and reinvent music coverage as only the BBC can for music fans at home and on the move.”

Mark Friend, BBC Controller, Multiplatform across Radio and Music, said: “Just as we did with sport at the Olympics, our ambition this year is to bring our audiences even closer to the music they love at Glastonbury, with access to all the BBC’s coverage - live and on-demand - at home, at work and on the go. Not only will this be the first truly digital Glastonbury, this will also be the first mobile Glastonbury – we expect mobile and tablet viewing and listening to reach unprecedented levels, particularly over the weekend.” The BBC will stream to four screens - PC, mobile, tablet and connected TV. A wealth of content will be available at bbc.co.uk/Glastonbury, as well as more info about the line-up, acts, stages, photo galleries and interviews. BBC iPlayer Radio will be the place for all music on the go with a dedicated tab in the mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

On BBC iPlayer, all the action from BBC One, Two, Three and Four will be available live or as catch-up for 7 days after broadcast. In addition, you'll be able to catch up on all the full sets from the main stages. On TV, three additional red button streams will offer more content and highlights from the festival, and the BBC’s Connected Red Button service available on Virgin Media’s TiVo service will bring viewers all the live streams and on-demand video seamlessly on their TV.

Festival founder and organiser, Michael Eavis, said: “The BBC have stuck with us through thick and thin since 1997 and they’ve earned their stripes the hard way. It’s been quite a journey since 97 and to have a complete record of what we’ve been up to over the years is music history gold dust.”

Coverage will kick off on Friday 28 June and continue until after the final headliners on Sunday 30 June. Across the weekend it will feature on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, Radio 1 and 1Xtra, Radio 2 and 6 Music. Acts playing at the Festival include the Arctic Monkeys, Mumford & Sons, Primal Scream, The xx, Chase & Status, Dizzee Rascal, Portishead, Jake Bugg, Public Enemy, Chic with Nile Rogers, Kenny Rogers, Crystal Castles, Bobby Womack, Foals and the legendary Rolling Stones.

Haim top BBC poll

Universal signed Haim have been announced as winners of the BBC Sound Of 2013. The sisterly LA trio steadily grew in popularity over the course of 2012, and were one of the most talked about acts at last year’s Great Escape festival in May.  AlunaGeorge, came in as runner up  in the poll, followed by Angel Haze, Laura Mvula and Chvrches. The full longlist also featured BRITs Critics Choice winner Tom Odell, as well as  Little Green Cars, King Krule, Peace, Savages and The Weeknd, amongst others.

BBC's Hackney Weekend adds to bill

There's been a host of new additions announced for the BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, the annual free music festival to be held in east London in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. The new additions include Bombay Bicycle Club, Calvin Harris, Chase & Status, Dappy, David Guetta, Deadmau5, DJ Fresh, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sande, Jack White, Jessie J, Labrinth, Lana Del Rey, Magnetic Man, Nero, Professor Green, Rizzle Kicks, Swedish House Mafia,Taio Cruz, The Maccabees, The Ting Tings, Will.i.am, and Wretch 32. The free event will take place at Hackney Marshes, East London on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th June 2011, and will have more than double the capacity of previous Big Weekends, and will feature six stages of music for 100,000 people. Artists already confirmed are Florence & the Machine, Leona Lewis, Plan B, and Tinie Tempah, with over 100 international and UK artists, bands and DJs appearing in total. Tickets will be free and are obtained through a lottery and the majority of the tickets are being allocated to people living in Hackney and the surrounding boroughs.

Coldplay top headliners poll

Coldplay have been voted the best UK festival headliner of 2011, in an online poll conducted by BBC 6 Music. The band - who headlined Glastonbury and T In The Park - topped the survey with 22.7% of votes cast, breakfast show host Shaun Keaveny announced. US rock band The National came in second with 14.2%, while Muse were third with 13.9%. Coldplay's drummer Will Champion told 6 Music playing festivals gave the band "a chance to win people over but added "But there's also a strong possibility that people have already made their mind up about you," he added, "and no matter how well you play they're not going to be happy about it."

Picture by Denis O'Regan (C) 2011